Washington's Allergy to Action
Is Headache For Business Leaders

By

Alan Murray Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Jan. 18, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

A few months ago, I wrote a column saying today's CEOs often seem more like politicians than the autocratic corporate leaders of old, and cited General Electric's Jeffrey Immelt as an example. That prompted a response from Gary Sheffer, keeper of Mr. Immelt's image, who objected to comparing the GE chieftain to a politician.

No insult intended. I was making the point that today's chief executives have to play to a much broader set of constituencies than they used to -- from activist shareholders groups and hedge funds to...